Horrific Carnival cruise gets D.C.'s attention

The cruise ship industry’s latest travails have put it back in the hot seat with Democrats in Congress.

This time lawmakers are eyeing the less-than-triumphant voyage of Carnival Cruise Lines’ Triumph, which drifted for days in the Gulf of Mexico this month after a fire in the engine room knocked out power to vital systems. Power remained out while thousands of vacationers coped with overflowing sewage, fed on “ketchup sandwiches” and improvised sleeping quarters until the Coast Guard towed the ship to Alabama.

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In a statement released while the Triumph was still adrift, Rockefeller called the incident the “latest example in a long string of serious and troubling incidents involving cruise ships.” He indicated he might push out a fresh round of safeguards before he leaves the Senate in two years.

“It is time that the cruise line industry — which earns more than $25 billion a year — pays for the costs they impose on the government since it’s the Coast Guard that comes to the rescue every single time something goes wrong on a cruise ship,” Rockefeller said.

Part of Rockefeller’s frustration stems from the fact that most, if not all, cruise ship companies — including Carnival — are headquartered off U.S. soil, which means they aren’t subject to U.S. taxes. But Americans make up a majority of passengers around the globe, so the Coast Guard and other U.S. agencies inevitably get involved when problems arise.

Mike McGarry, senior vice president of public affairs at the Cruise Lines International Association, acknowledged that most cruise lines aren’t located inside the United States, but he said the industry pays “millions” annually in fees to ports as well as agencies like the Coast Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. He also noted that cruise ships regularly render aid to other ships in distress, including at the Coast Guard’s request, at no charge.

“It’s just a universal thing that people in the maritime community do,” McGarry said.

But he added that if the Coast Guard “believed it was appropriate for those rendering assistance at sea, for those to charge for their services, we’d certainly consider any proposal the Coast Guard would make.”

Government officials are also often frustrated by the regulatory structure cruise ships operate in.